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Saturday, July 4, 2020

North Korea prevents COVID-19 making inroads


By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told a meeting of the politburo of the ruling Workers Party that his country had stopped the novel coronavirus from making inroads in the country, the state news agency KCNA reported on July 3. 

"We have thoroughly prevented the inroad of the malignant virus and maintained a stable anti-epidemic situation despite the worldwide health crisis, which is a shining success achieved," Kim Jong Un said in a statement carried by KCNA. 

He warned against self-complacency or relaxation in the anti-epidemic effort and urged North Koreans to maintain maximum alert. 

While North Korea has not confirmed any infections, its public health ministry has reported all 922 people checked so far have tested negative. Hundreds of people, mostly cargo handlers at seaports and land borders, are being regularly quarantined for monitoring. 

The politburo meeting on July 2 was held at a time when many hard-hit countries were easing lockdowns, even as the world moved quickly past the grim milestones of 10 million confirmed infections and 500,000 deaths. 

According to reports, North Korea has reopened schools but kept a ban on public gatherings and made it mandatory for people to wear masks in public places as part of its response to the coronavirus threat.

Expeditious completion of CPEC projects sought


By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the completion of all projects under the auspices of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) expeditiously. 

He issued these directives while chairing a meeting to review progress of the CPEC projects in Islamabad on July 3. 

While appreciating the role of the CPEC Authority, headed by Lt General Asim Saleem Bajwa, the Prime Minister further emphasized that, upon completion, the dividends from these projects must reach to all Pakistanis. 

Imran Khan described the CPEC as an excellent initiative for Pakistan's socioeconomic uplift which would guarantee a bright future for the country. 

During the meeting, the Prime Minister was briefed in detail about the status of the various ongoing projects under the CPEC. Federal ministers Asad Umar, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar and Omar Ayub Khan, Commerce Advisor, Abdur Razzak Dawood, CPEC Authority Chairman Lt General Asim Saleem Bajwa and senior officers of the organizations concerned attended the meeting.

India pushing for first COVID-19 vaccine by August 15


By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

According to some media reports, India is pushing hard to launch the first-ever COVID-19 vaccine by the name of Covaxin on its Independence Day on August 15. 

Although the experts have reckoned that the vaccine could take longer period to be developed and produced on technical grounds, there have been indications to beat the clock to align it with the celebrations of Independence Day. 

The project, a public-private venture between Bharat Biotech, the government-run Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institutes of Virology, is reported to have strong backing of the government. 

It has been learnt that Covaxin was cleared animal trials last week and the government has roped in leading health institutions to expedite clinical trials among humans. 

Bharat Biotech's BSL-3 high-containment facility for the manufacture of the inactivated polio vaccine will now be used for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Free mental therapy training for parents of special children launched


By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services) 

The Aga Khan University (AKU) has partnered with a range of organizations to launch free, online capacity building sessions for parents of children with mental health issues and developmental disorders whose treatment has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The initiative brings together professionals from across the country including developmental paediatricians, speech and occupational therapists, child psychiatrists, paediatric psychologists and student volunteers.

The sessions will see parents receive training on how to deliver rehabilitative care and essential therapies at home if they are unable to access the usual support. For example, instructors will guide parents on how to provide therapies to help children with developmental delays to improve their functional independence, and assist parents in managing behavioural issues that have emerged during the pandemic. Direct sessions between therapists and adolescents facing psychological challenges will also be offered, emphasising on stress management techniques. 

“Children dealing with development delays or behavioural disorders need ongoing, special attention. This pandemic has widened disparities in access to essential mental healthcare and our initiative seeks to help parents continue therapy for their children at home,” Dr Ayesha Mian, associate professor of psychiatry at the AKU, remarked. 

Many people are suffering from feelings of fear and anxiety due to the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic. However, parents of children with special needs must also cope with the fear of their child’s development regressing due to the disruption in their therapy. 

“Children on the autism spectrum can regress and lose the gain they had made in speech therapy. Those with conduct disorders may become aggressive towards siblings or pets. Adolescent boys and girls may find changes in mood, sleep or appetite. Such behaviours may get worse with a gap in care,” Fatima Karim, one of the initiative’s lead organisers and a master’s degree student at the AKU, observed. 

“For a developing nation like ours, this initiative would be a game changer in terms of cost-effective provision of mental health support to all eligible children based on their needs rather than diagnostic labels. For professionals, this is an opportunity to equip themselves with innovative health care delivery skills and help parents support their children,” Dr Sidra Kaleem Jafri, assistant professor of pediatrics and child health at the AKU, stated. 

Considering the need for such support for parents, Dr Sarah Saleem, professor of community health sciences at AKU and the principal investigator of the project, mentioned that the team hopes to continue the project until the lockdowns are eased. 

The initiative is part of a large coalition, Pakistan COVID Mental Health Response, which offers free mental health services through various programmes to those affected by distress during the pandemic.

The partners include AKU’s departments of community health sciences, psychiatry, and paediatrics and child health; Taskeen Health Initiative; Interactive Research & Development; Saaya Health Tech; and the Community Innovation Hub through Sehat Kahani. 

The programme is being supported by the British Asian Trust, CareTech and Cosaraf Charitable Foundation. Parents or guardians can book an appointment for free training sessions by sending an email to camh@aku.edu or by calling the helpline 021-37136019.

China urges India to avoid extending border dispute to business

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

China has urged India not to start new disputes as they will take measures to protect the interests of Chinese firms operating in India. 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson made the statement in Beijing on July 3 in response to a series of actions taken by India against China. 

Zhao Lijian, the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, stated that pragmatic cooperation between China and India was mutually beneficial and win-win while man-made obstacles to cooperation between the two countries violated the relevant World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and may also harm India's own interests. 

His comments came after a series of measures, such as banning 59 mobile applications developed by Chinese firms, were taken by the Indian government against China after border tensions between the two countries had boiled over in June. 

Media outlets even reported that the Indian officials were considering actions to stop the Chinese companies from participating in India's future highway projects. 

There were also rumours doing the rounds that a Chinese company may not be allowed to become the title sponsors of the Indian Premier League (IPL), rated as the richest franchise-based T20 cricket tournament of the world. 

In response to a question, Zhao remarked that China and India were engaging in dialogue on easing the situation through military and diplomatic channels and neither side should take any action that may complicate the border situation. 

As the two countries' border conflict eased, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited a forward post in the border region of Ladakh on July 3.